Berlibur ke Raja Ampat

Raja Ampat adalah sebuah kabupaten kepulauan di Provinsi Papua Barat Daya. Ada lebih dari seribu pulau besar dan kecil di wilayah itu. Gugusan pulau karst dan pantai-pantainya yang berpasir putih menjadikan Raja Ampat sebagai daerah tujuan wisata bahari yang terkenal baik di Indonesia maupun di seluruh dunia.

Untuk pergi ke Raja Ampat, Anda bisa berangkat dengan pesawat dari daerah masing-masing dengan tujuan kota Sorong. Jika terbang dari Jakarta atau kota-kota besar lainnya di Pulau Jawa, Anda bisa naik pesawat Garuda, Batik atau Sriwijaya. Ketika tiba di Sorong, Anda bisa melanjutkan perjalanan dengan taksi bandara ke Pelabuhan Rakyat. Selanjutnya perjalanan ke Raja Ampat bisa dilakukan menggunakan kapal cepat. Harga tiket sekitar 100,000 per orang untuk kelas biasa dan sekitar 225 ribu untuk kelas VIP. Perjalanan dari Sorong ke Waisai menghabiskan waktu kurang lebih 2 jam.

Pulau Waigeo di Raja Ampat

Tiba di pelabuhan Anda bisa meminta sopir untuk mengantar ke tempat menginap. Ada penginapan,  hotel, resort, homestay di Waigeo.

Anda bisa menikmati berenang dan snorkeling di pantai dan juga menonton burung-burung tropis yang sering hinggap di pohon-pohon tinggi yang ada di kompleks resort.
Resort memiliki teropong untuk nonton burung serta perlengkapan snorkeling seperti mask, snorkel, fins dan lifejacket.

Tur Laut

Tur laut untuk melihat pemandangan pulau-pulau karst seperti Piaynemo, Kabui Karst serta Wayag, Arborek dan pasir timbul bisa diselenggarakan menggunakan speedboat yang dimiliki oleh operator tur atau pemilik resort.

Durasi Tur

Tur di Raja Ampat bisa berdurasi pendek antara 1 hingga 2 hari atau durasi yang agak panjang seperti 3, 5, 7 atau bahkan 10 hari. 

Biaya Tur

Biaya tur per orang ditentukan oleh jumlah peserta dan jumlah hari yang hendak dihabiskan oleh peserta selama liburan mereka di Raja Ampat. 

Booking

Untuk informasi lebih terperinci tentang paket wisata di Raja Ampat, silahkan menghubungi Charles Roring lewat WA: +6281332245180 atau email: peace4wp@gmail.com

Burung Layang-layang

Burung Layang-layang di Perairan Papua Barat

Saya sering melihat burung layang-layang terbang tinggi di angkasa. Burung ini dikenal juga dengan nama: Lesser Frigatebird (Fregata ariel). Burung ini memiliki bentangan saya lebih dari 1.5 meter. Ketika saya berada di pantai, burung frigate ini biasanya terbang dalam kelompok dengan jumlah 2 hingga lebih dari 10 ekor. Mereka mencari ikan di lautan. Burung ini akan terlihat melayang-layang di atas laut pada ketinggian puluhan meter di udara. Mata mereka yang tajam dengan sigap mencari kumpulan ikan yang sedang berenang di permukaan. Jika mereka telah menemukannya, mereka akan menyambar ikan-ikan tersebut dan menangkapnya dengan paruh mereka yang panjang. Karena jumlah mereka yang banyak, terkadang burung-burung laut lainnya yang berukuran kecil takut mendekat. 

Burung layang-layang ini adalah simbol kebebasan. Mengapa demikian? Karena burung ini bisa terbang tinggi dan pada jarak yang sangat jauh. Mereka sering memanfaatkan tiupan angin sehingga tidak terlalu banyak mengepak sayapnya. Ini adalah cara terbang yang sangat menghemat energi.  

Di kawasan perairan Samudra Pasifik di wilayah utara Manokwari, Tambrauw, serta perairan Raja Ampat, burung Lesser Frigatebird ini mudah dijumpai. Meskipun bukan merupakan target pengamatan yang penting di kalangan wisatawan pengamat burung, ketika kita melihat Lesser Frigatebird di udara, kita akan kagum akan pergerakan mereka di udara.

Wisata Bahari di Raja Ampat

Kepulauan Raja Ampat di Provinsi Papua Barat adalah salah satu destinasi wisata bahari yang terpopuler di Indonesia. Keindahan terumbu karang dan keanekaragaman biota lautnya menurut para ahli adalah yang tertinggi di dunia. Ada ribuan spesies ikan dan hewan laut lainnya yang hidup di perairan Raja Ampat. Oleh karena itu, tidaklah mengherankan jika banyak sekali penikmat wisata bahari dari berbagai negara yang suka ke Raja Ampat. Mereka ke sana untuk berenang, snorkeling dan menyelam. Banyak juga wisatawan domestik yang suka ke sana untuk melihat pemandangan pulau-pulau hijau di perairan berwarna turquoise yang indah sekali.

Wisata Bahari Keliling Raja Ampat

Ada sekitar 610 pulau di kabupaten maritim ini. Jika ditambah dengan gugusan karang yang kecil-kecil maka jumlahnya bisa mencapai lebih dari 1500 buah. 

Untuk melihat keindahan alam bahari Raja Ampat, para pelancong memerlukan perahu motor. Harga sewanya relatif mahal karena bahan bakar harus diambil dari kota Sorong atau Waisai yang jauh sekali jaraknya. Agar biaya wisata ke Raja Ampat lebih murah, kebanyakan wisatawan pergi secara berkelompok dengan jumlah sekitar 8 sampai 10 orang. Ada banyak penginapan sederhana yang tersedia di berbagai pulau di sana seperti Waigeo, Gam, Kri, Mansuar, Batanta, Salawati hingga Misool. Kebanyakan penginapan itu dikelola oleh masyarakat setempat. Ada juga resort dengan kamar yang mewah dibangun di pesisir pantai. Harganya lumayan mahal karena dikelola secara profesional oleh perusahaan-perusahaan milik swasta nasional dan manca negara.

Pulau-pulau Karst di Kepulauan Raja Ampat

Bagaimana ke Raja Ampat

Caranya mudah saja. Pertama-tama Anda berangkat dari kota Anda ke Sorong. Ada penerbangan reguler yang di sediakan oleh maskapai penerbangan milik pemerintah maupun swasta ke kota Sorong seperti Garuda, Sriwijaya, Batik, Nam, Lion Air. Setelah tiba di bandara Domine Eduard Osok, wisatawan perlu ke Pelabuhan Rakyat untuk naik kapal cepat ke Waisai (ibu kota kabupaten Raja Ampat).

Dari Waisai, wisatawan bisa melanjutkan perjalanan ke pulau-pulau sesuai dengan yang diinginkan. Ada banyak sekali pantai, kampung, atau pulau yang bisa dikunjungi. Untuk memotret pemandangan indah, wisatawan bisa ke Pasir Timbul, Wayag, Piaynemo, Laguna Ikan, Arborek serta Teluk Kabui.

Bagi para pelancong yang punya duit lebih, perjalanan ke Misool atau Kofiau juga bisa dilakukan.

Menikmati Keindahan Alam

Para pelancong yang ingin melihat keindahan dunia bawah laut di Raja Ampat bisa menikmati wisata renang snorkeling di kawasan terumbu karang. Harap membawa masker, pipa bernafas (snorkel), serta kaki bebek (fins) sendiri. Sebuah kamera aksi yang kedap air seperti GoPro atau Brica B-Pro5 akan sangat bermanfaat untuk memotret ikan, bintang laut, anemone dan ribuan jenis ikan dan satwa laut lainnya. 

Hutan hujan tropis di Raja Ampat merupakan habitat alami bagi berbagai spesies burung. Ada Kakaktua Raja, Kakaktua Putih, Eclectus Parrot, Raja Udang Paruh Kuning, Raja Udang Pantai dan lain-lain. Untuk menontknnya, wisatawan perlu binocular dan kamera telefoto seperti Nikon P900 dan Nikon P1000. 

Booking

Jika Anda berminat untuk berwisata ke Raja Ampat untuk melihat keindahan alam baharinya dan membutuhkan saya sebagai pemandu wisata. Silahkan menghubungi saya lewat email: peace4wp@gmail.com atau whatsapp: +6281332245180.

Watching New Guinea Vulturine Parrot

Vulturine Parrot

This is the picture of New Guinea Vulturine Parrot (Psittrichas fulgidus) that I saw in Sakofsiah mountain range of West Papua. There were three of them that stayed in the fig tree for quite long. They ate the fruits and took a rest for several hours there. Because of continuous hunting, road construction and conversion of rainforest into monoculture palm oil and cacao plantations, the population of the bird decreases rapidly. IUCN has put the bird into the Status of Vulnerable. A different approach has to be done to preserve the natural habitat of this parrot, other tropical birds and wild animals.

Andaer ridge forest in Vogelkop region of West Papua

Ecotourism is one of the solutions to protect them. Local villagers could work as guides, cooks, and porters when tourists come to their village to watch Vulturine Parrot and other birds.
To watch tropical birds in the forest, visitors need to make some preparation and bring suitable birding devices. A good pair of 10×42 or 12×50 binoculars is needed to see birds and animals. For taking pictures, I highly recommend a bridge camera such as the Nikon P900 or Nikon P1000. Users of D-SLR camera can buy telephoto lens Sigma 150-600 mm or Tamron 150-600mm G2.
Visitors need to fly to Manokwari or Sorong city if they want to go hiking and birdwatching in the forest of Mount Sakofsiah. I suggest that visitors travel in a group of 4 people so that they can share the cost. Birds that can also be seen in the region are Wompoo Fruit Dove, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Palm Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, Mountain Peltop, Long-tailed Buzzard, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, and Magnificent Bird of Paradise, Lesser Birds of Paradise, Magnificent Riflebird, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Yellow-faced Myna, Oriental Dollarbird, Blyth's hornbill, and at lot more.
The duration of the tour to Andaer ridge forest should be at least 4 days. If the trip to Mount Sakofsiah is included, we need at least 6 days in total to accomplish the tour.
Bringing raincoat, sleeping bag, and plastic bags to cover camera and other electronic devices in case of raining is highly recommended. When visitors participate in this tour, they have to be physically fit because the trip may involve long walk along mountain ridge and camping in the forest to see more wildlife and birds.
If you are interested in watching Vulturine Parrot, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or whatsapp: +6281332245180.

Olive-backed Sunbird

Olive-backed Sunbird (Cinnyris jugularis)

I like walking in the morning to see beautiful scenery and watch birds that like to perch on the branches of trees. When I was traveling in Sonder town of Minahasa regency of North Sulawesi, I saw a lot of species of birds. Some of them were small such as the Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Scaly-breasted Munia, and Chestnut Munia.

But there was another beautiful bird that attracted my attention. It was the Olive-backed Sunbird (Cynniris jugularis). The male one had yellow bellied feather and blue throat. His wings were olive green. I was standing still in front of my parents' house when I saw it landing on the branch of a Papaya tree to lick the nectar of its flowers.

Sulawesi Scops Owl

Sulawesi Scops Owl

I did a short night birding in the forest of Minahasa a few hours ago. My main target was Sulawesi Scops Owl (Otus manadensis). It was around 18.00 local time when I heard the call of owl. So, I immitated it by making similar call. The bird was calling from the forest in a distance of approximately 50 meters away from me. I was standing at the side of a road. After replying its calls for around 15 minutes, I heard that the calls from the bird were getting closer. There was a small forest at the roadside. The bird was sitting on the lower branch of a tree around 5 meters above the ground.

Pale Blue Monarch

Pale Blue Monarch

Here is the picture of Pale-Blue Monarch (Hypotimis puella) that I saw when I guided several Taiwanese tourists in the rainforest of North Sulawesi. It was around 10.00 morning time. We were about to leave the forest where we were birding in. Suddenly a small blue bird landed on the lower branch of a tree on the right of us. He stayed for a few seconds and then jumped to other branches of another tree. The feather of the bird was blue. It was a beautiful bird. I immediately aimed my camera to the bird and began shooting him several times. In addition to the bird, we also watched other species such as  Great-billed Kingfisher, Collared Kingfisher, Green-backed Kingfisher, White-necked Myna (Streptocitta albicollis), Large-billed Kingfisher, Yellow-billed Malkoha, Grey-cheeked Green Pigeon, Sulawesi Cuckoo Dove, Sunda Teal, Spotted Whistling-Duck, Barred Rail, and etc.
If you are interested in birding in North Sulawesi, and want me to be your guide, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by e-mail to: leororing@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.

Azure Kingfisher in Halmahera

Azure Kingfisher

This morning, I accompanied the Taiwanese tourists on a birding trip to the coastal area of Halmahera island. Our main target was Azure Kingfisher and Beach Kingfisher. We focused our birding activity in the harbor area of Sidangoli across from the old ruins of the former plywood making factory.
There, we saw a couple of Beach Kingfisher, Willie Wagtail, Sunbird, and Plover. After that we moved to the bank of the river that was located across from the lodge where we stayed. There was an elementary school near the place where we enjoyed birding. We were waiting for the Azure Kingfisher when suddenly we heard that there were a lot of school children coming out of the school to meet us.

Farmland in North Sulawesi

Farmland in Minahasa

I was in North Sulawesi last week. I guided some Taiwanese tourists on a birding and wildlife watching tour across Kotamobagu and Minahasa. In Kotamobagu we watched Maleo whereas in Minahasa, we watched Scaly Kingfisher and various other species of birds. We spent several days in Tangkoko to watch monkeys, cuscus possum, and various species of birds.
While traveling in this region, I saw beautiful landscape of farmland both in lowland and in highland areas. For lowland, most of the farmland consisted on ricefield whereas for highland, the slopes were covered by vegetables such as cabbage, carrot, and fruits. This agricultural produce is sold not only to Manado, Tomohon, and Bitung but also to towns and cities in eastern region of Indonesia such as Sorong, Manokwari and Jayapura as well as Ternate, Ambon. North Sulawesi also exports palm sugar to these cities.

Great-billed Kingfisher

Great-billed Kingfisher

This is the picture of Great-billed Kingfisher (Pelargopsis melanorhyncha) that I saw when in the mangrove forest of North Sulawesi. The bird was bigger than most other kingfishers. I was traveling with 4 Taiwanese tourists in Tangkoko region when we decided to do a trip to a river in North Minahasa to watch the bird. We went there by car. It took around 1 hour to reach the birding site. We had to continue our trip by a motorized boat through a river where mangrove trees and other coastal plants grow on its both sides.

Eruption of Mount Soputan

Mount Soputan

I am now traveling with several tourists from Taiwan on a birding tour across Sulawesi and Halmahera islands. This trip has been an extraordinary adventure for us because we experienced huge earthquake in Palu city of Central Sulawesi and saw the eruption of Mount Soputan in Minahasa.
For me earthquake, tsunami, volcano eruption are processes of nature that have happened millions of years before the introduction of concepts of religions into mankind. These natural phenomenons are not the punishment from God to human being so that they will repent from their sins. People may think that these natural disasters are bad things to ever happen to us. For me, personally, it is the best time to learn, understand, appreciate and respect nature.
Most of the time, it is not easy for us to live in harmony with nature. Men often exploit natural resources irresponsibly. Illegal logging, the use of trawl net at the bottom of the sea, or the excessive use of toxic materials to control pest in farmland are some of the many examples that occur every day.
Visiting Minahasa is an exciting moment for me. I can see mountains, and valleys. I begin to fall in love with this land. I hope that I can return very soon to Minahasa.

Also read:

• Minahasa Highland Tour: Hiking, Birding and Sightseeing
• Wildlife Trip in Tangkoko and Minahasa Highland
• Birding in Sonder of Minahasa Regency
• Birdwatching Tour in Minahasa Highland
• Birding in Sonder's Forest and Farmland
• Birding and Butterfly watching Tour from Manado City
• Birding and Butterflywatching in Sonder of Minahasa Highland
• Discover Bunaken: Indonesia's Underwater Snorkeling Paradise

Flying Lizard

Celebes Flying Lizard

I am traveling with four Taiwanese tourists in North Sulawesi now. We explore the rainforest of Minahasa peninsula to watch birds and other wild animals that live in tropical rainforest. This morning, I saw Maleo, Ashy Woodpecker, Blue Roller, Hanging Parrot, White-bellied Imperial Pigeon, Pale-Blue Monarch.
Before that, we were traveling in South Sulawesi and Lore Lindu Natuonal Park in Central Sulawesi  where we saw Black-ringed White Eye, Lesser Myza, Citrine Canary Flycatcher, Turquoise Flycatcher, Knobbed Hornbill, Pygmy Hornbill, Collared Kingfisher, and a lot more.
I also saw some flying lizards. I like the color of this reptile. So, I took a picture of the lizard. It is a very beautiful animal.
In addition to watching birds, insects and reptiles, I also saw a lot of species of wild flowers. As a tourist guide, I offer birding and wildlife watching tour to visitors who are interested in traveling to North Sulawesi. Please, contact me (Leo Roring) by email to: leororing@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.

Wild Flowers in the forest of Sulawesi island

Birding in Ramang-Ramang

Ramang-ramang

Ramang-Ramang is the name of a karst area in Maros of South Sulawesi. I went birding with several Taiwanese tourists today. We saw Yellow-billed Malkoha, Sulawesi pygmy woodpecker, Sulawesi Serpent Eagle, and various other interesting birds.
The karst formation is beautiful and also good for sightseeing.